The issue has the Phillies ranked second in the division behind the NY Mets, and losing in the first round of the playoffs to the Chicago Cubs as the Wild Card. A few things it has under the team’s listing is Quick Take (which is an overview of the club in the upcoming year), a person in the spotlight, the team’s best player 25 years old and under, top “not quite prospect (” [A] player [who] exceeds his rookie eligibility, but [not yet] a dependable major leaguer.”), top rookie, and the team’s best prospect.

Straight out of the magazine, copied word for word:

Quick Take: The Phillies will score enough runs, and if they can prevent enough, they should win the wild card.

In The Spotlight:RHP Brett Myers. After winning in double digits for four straight year[s], he became a closer last year. Now he’s the No. 2 starter again. (Ed.’s
note: This issue went into print before Manuel named Myers the club’s Opening Day starter, and
thus, #1 pitcher).

Oh, yes readers, it’s the greatest time of year! Last night, I had the first of four fantasy drafts, with the other three on the way. There are 12 people in this league, and a 23-man roster, consisting of 1 catcher, first baseman, second baseman, third baseman, and shortstop, 3 outfielders, 1 utility position, 3 starting pitchers, 3 relievers, 2 regular pitchers, and 6 bench spots. I have named my team after the greatest sports website in the history of man, Phillies.tk. The draft took a little over 2 hours, and here is what my team looks like, with draft round in parentheses:

C Joe Mauer, MIN (5)

1b Paul Konerko, CWS (8 )

2b Brian Roberts, BAL (3)

3b Kevin Youkilis, BOS (13)

SS Michael Young, TX (7)

of Carl Crawford, TB (2)

of Kosuke Fukudome, CHC (11)

of Willy Taveras, COL (16)

u Jim Thome, CWS (9)

—–

sp Johan Santana, NYM (1)
sp Dan Haren, ARZ (6)

sp Fausto Carmona, CLE (10)

rp JJ Putz, SEA (4)

rp Manny Corpas, COL (12)

rp Troy Percival, TB (15)

p Matt Garza, TB (17)

p Brandon Lyon, ARZ (22)
—–

bench Stephen Drew, ARZ (SS) (19)

bench Colby Rasmus, STL (OF) (20)

bench Casey Kotchman, LAA (1b) (21)

bench Chien-Ming Wang, NYY (p) (14)

bench Andy Pettitte, NYY (p) (18 )

bench Gavin Floyd, CWS (p) (23, final).

——-

After Thoughts

I’m ashamed in myself that I drafted more Devil Rays and Mets than Phillies. I also went for pitching early, as evidenced with JJ Putz in the fourth round. Late in the draft, I was looking for several of my sleeper picks, of which I got most of. Rasmus, Lyon, and Floyd were all in my top five sleeper category, and I am excited that I got those three. Rasmus is trying to make the jump from AA to starting CF for the Cardinals, Lyon was given the nod as Dacks closer (no one else in the league seemed to notice that), and Floyd was awarded the fifth spot in the White Sox rotation just hours before my draft had started. The first objective on my list is to get a Phillie on to my team.

My PS2 broke (NOOO), so I decided to write. This is another idea I’ve had. I’m going to trace the franchise’s best players, and see what we ended up with. Batting leadoff, is former pitcher Curt Schilling (see his website here, also on WordPress).

Schilling was with the Phillies from 1992 through 2000. We sent him to the Arizona Diamondbacks for 1B Travis Lee, pitchers Omar Daal, Vicente Padilla, and Nelson Figueroa. Travis Lee was only with the team for three seasons, as the unpopular First Baseman left after ’02 as a free agent to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. So, we got nothing for him. But that’s ok, he was a nobody anyway.

Daal was with the team until November of 2001, when we traded him to the LA Dodgers for minor league pitchers Eric Junge (pronounced like “Young”. It’s German, or something…) and Jesus Cordero. Cordero amounted to nothing, but Junge proved to be a useful commodity. From 2002 through 2004, he was one of the best pitchers on the S/WB Red Barons staff. In 02 and ’03, he got tastes of the majors, but did not do as well as he did in the minor leagues. I guess you could classify him as a AAAA player. He left after 2004 to the Mets as a free agent.

Jumping back to Schilling, Padilla was the best thing we got out of this trade. He didn’t stick with the Phillies until the 2002 season, when he became the number two starter on the team behind Robert Person. He left the team after 2005, when he was sent to the Rangers for Ricardo Rodriguez, who didn’t make it out of Spring Training that year.

The last player in the deal, Nelson Figueroa, was in the minor leagues for most of 2002 (and all of his Philly stint that year), and pitched only 81 innings for the Phils the next year, before being claimed off waivers by the Milwaukee Brewers. He never factored into the team’s plans.

_____________________

Where Are They Now?

Schilling, as everyone knows, went on to win the World Series in 2001 with Arizona, and then two more with Boston in 2004 and last year (2007). Though he spent his prime here with us, he still had plenty more productive years. Currently with the Boston Red Sox.

Lee spent one year with the Rays in 2003, before leaving as a free agent to the dark side. He signed with the Yankees, but did not see much action. He then returned to the Rays in ’05 for two years, but was long past his glory days by then. He signed with the Nationals in Spring Training of 2007, but asked to be released. Currently retired.

Daal, after his Philly tenure, was traded to the Dodgers, and then wound up pitching for the Orioles in 2003. After undergoing shoulder surgery in 2004, he called it quits. Interestingly, his current whereabouts are unknown, and is considered missing.

Junge has bounced around since he left, including the Mets, Padres, and Yankees. This offseason, he signed with the Orix Buffaloes in Japan.

After being released in 2002, Cordero never saw the light of organized ball again.

Padilla was traded after ’06 to the Rangers, where he currently is. He quickly ascended the rotation ranks and is now the team’s ace.

Figueroa bounced around even more than Junge did. He’s been with Milwaukee, Washington, Pittsburgh, and even spent two games with the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League. Currently with the Mets.

Well, it certainly has been a while since I posted, hasn’t it? Here’s a post I’ve been meaning to do for a while, comparing the current Phillies left fielder to the team’s greatest slugger (as of now). This post more than makes up for my month-long absence. It’s ~800 words. Enjoy! vs. (more…)